His West Side shop sells homemade hemp and CBD creams, cooking spices, oils, gummies and other edibles with a goal of getting black people to join in on the looming recreational pot gold rush.

Former state Sen. Rickey Hendon recently opened a West Side shop selling his homemade hemp and CBD creams, cooking spices, oils, gummies and other edibles—and distributing his music.

The opening of the store, CBD Chicago at 2946 W. Madison St., last month is the first step in the colorful ex-pol’s plans for a suite of pot-based enterprises, including a dispensary and a restaurant in the same building.

Hendon, 65, is licensed to make CBD and hemp products, and he plans to apply for licenses to sell cannabis this fall.

The restaurant is contingent upon the acquisition of state cannabis licenses and the city’s allowance of public consumption of cannabis.

Hendon said the goal is to bring jobs to economically challenged West and South Side communities and begin exporting products globally.

He wants black people to prepare to join the green economy as entrepreneurs come January when recreational use is legal in the state. Hendon said he watched closely the formation of the recreational cannabis legislation and advocated for reduced fees and expedited application processing for minorities and women, as well as a $30 million loan fund that would aid minority entrepreneurs entering the space.

Recreational use revenue in Illinois is expected to be $1.6 billion a year, but nationally black participation has been low. Hemp, legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill, he said, is an entree to that arena.

Photo

Cheryl Jackson

Rickey Hendon stocks his shelves.

“It’s a good way to learn the laws that you’ve got to follow,” he said. “It’s a good way to develop your products. Anything we can make out of hemp, we can make out of cannabis.”

Hemp and marijuana are varieties of the same plant species, Cannabis sativa, but hemp contains CBD, a non-intoxicating chemical compound that has been used to treat people with health conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, Crohn’s disease, pain and insomnia.

Cannabis contains the cannabinoid THC, which has psychotropic properties and alters states of consciousness.

Hendon’s 3,000-square-foot CBD space is a former cabaret lounge with a full kitchen. About half the items in display cases are those Hendon makes himself, either at the shop or at his nearby home, and labels with the Hollywood Hendon logo—a cartoon image of the former lawmaker and a hemp leaf.

They include bottles of CBD extract, shea butter and coconut oil creams, and $20 hemp-infused cooking seasonings such as lemon pepper. Hendon said he aims to keep prices more affordable than typically available. He sells a bottle of extract for $35, compared to competitors’ $60 to $70 bottles.

Giant gummy bears, granola, rice crispy snacks, cookies and peach tarts are among hemp and CBD snacks he sells, along with scented bath salts and honey.

About 60 to 70 percent of the businesses he buys from are black-owned. The shop carries CBD products from WaKanna For Life, the company led by state Sen. Patricia Van Pelt, which hopes to obtain licenses to grow and sell cannabis.

Customers making a purchase get a free copy of Hendon’s single, “Lovers and Friends.”

Eight people help Hendon run the shop with the understanding that they’ll be paid when the business makes money, he said. “We’re in this together. I said: ‘Let’s step out on faith and see what happens.' "